I wonder if the history of the designation of the parkland that the City of Burnaby wants to build a waste-processing facility on has been lost. A 2004 Report to Council refers to the area as environmentally sensitive.

The March 31, 2004 report is entitled “Acquisition of Environmentally Sensitive Lands Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park.”

The report clearly states that “these environmentally significant lands have been transferred into City ownership for park and conservation purposes.”

The report speaks to three years of working with DFO to reestablish salmon rearing habitat and other work to “enhance the natural landscape to maximize wildlife values. . . ”

The report also states that “the meadow area is classified as a Tidal Freshwater Marsh as it is subject to daily tidal inundation. This wet grassland type is a relatively rare habitat type in Burnaby and the surrounding region. Since European settlement, 75% of the wetlands in the Lower Mainland have been lost. . . ”

As for the issue of habitat compensation, which is often problematic and difficult to fully achieve, the reports states “. . . it is important to note that larger natural areas have greater value than smaller segmented parcels as they are more resilient to environmental impacts.”

I hope this key report will be fully considered before the City of Burnaby continues to push the recent proposed project.

The report  can be found on the Heritage Burnaby webiste here: